black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

Our species needs, and deserves, a citizenry with minds wide awake and a basic understanding of how the world works.

Carl Sagan

If I finish a book a week, I will read only a few thousand books in my lifetime, about a tenth of a percent of the contents of the greatest libraries of our time. The trick is to know which books to read.
CARL SAGAN

Book Content Finish Library Lifetime Percent Reading Time Trick Week
The very act of understanding is a celebration of joining, merging, even if on a very modest scale, with the magnificence of the Cosmos.
CARL SAGAN

Act Celebration Cosmic Magnificant Merge Modest Scale Understand
The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.
CARL SAGAN

Apple Blood Calcium DNA Interior Nitrogen Stars Teeth
Stars are phoenixes, rising from their own ashes.
CARL SAGAN

Ash Rise Science Stars
Our species needs, and deserves, a citizenry with minds wide awake and a basic understanding of how the world works.
CARL SAGAN

Awake Citizen Deserve Mind Species Understand Work World
One of the greatest gifts adults can give – to their offspring and to their society – is to read to children.
CARL SAGAN

Adult Children Gift Reading Society Spring
Exploration is in our nature. We began as wanderers, and we are wanderers still. We have lingered long enough on the shores of the cosmic ocean. We are ready at last to set sail for the stars.
CARL SAGAN

Cosmic Enough Explore Investigation Nature Ocean Ready Sail Shore Stars Wander
For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love.
CARL SAGAN

Creature Love Vast
The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be consonant with what we desperately want to be true. But our preferences do not determine what’s true.
CARL SAGAN

desperatel Determination Preference Prejudice Puzzle True Truth Want Work
The significance of our lives and our fragile planet is then determined only by our own wisdom and courage.
CARL SAGAN

Courage Determination Fragile Live Planet Significance Wisdom
We live in a vast and awesome universe in which, daily, suns are made and worlds destroyed, where humanity clings to an obscure clod of rock.
CARL SAGAN

Awesome Cling Destroy Humanity Live Rock Sun Universe Vast World
Advances in medicine and agriculture have saved vastly more lives than have been lost in all the wars in history.
CARL SAGAN

Advance Agriculture History Live Lost Medicine Save Science Vast War
A book is made from a tree. It is an assemblage of flat, flexible parts (still called “leaves”) imprinted with dark pigmented squiggles.
CARL SAGAN

Assemble Book Leaf Print Tree
Except in pure mathematics, nothing is known for certain (although much is certainly false).
CARL SAGAN

Certain Except False Mathematics Pure
I don’t want to believe. I want to know.
CARL SAGAN

Atheist Believe Knowledge Proof Science Want
The brain is like a muscle. When it is in use we feel very good. Understanding is joyous.
CARL SAGAN

Brain Feeling Goodness Joy Muscle Understand

Our species needs, and deserves, a citizenry with minds wide awake and a basic understanding of how the world works.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

Our species needs, and deserves, a citizenry with minds wide awake and a basic understanding of how the world works.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Carl Sagan Quotes